Support for thread cops



, to Jthe laclr of such flanges, trouble `is fre-` Patented June` 8, 1926.`

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFllcg i cHARLEs n WARREN, 0E wESTrIEnn,MASSACHUSETTS,y ASsIGNoR To W. WARREH THREAD WoRKs,ioE WESTEIEED, `MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or .MASSA- CHUSETTS..

. Appucation n1ed n 'eennm 15, V1924'. semina, 755,951.

i rlhis invention relates to improvements in supports forl thread copsof vthe general character commonly usedv to supply thread to high speed sewing machines and thev like. The invention is particularly designed for use in yconnection with a very common type of cop, having a hollow cylindrical cop tube,

usually of cardboard or libre, `upon which of View, for their lowcost, as distinguished `lOrn providing a .permanent flange on one thethreadis wound to form the cop body.

Asgenerally used, these4 cops donot rotate and are wound sol that the thread ,may

be readily removedtherefrom by an upward and 'approximately axially-directed ,pull,'- y

the cop remaining stationary as the thread is unwound, as distinguished from the practice in slow speed machines yof unwinding o1"-l dinary flanged spools by jrotatively mounting them andremoving the thread by a lateral and tangentially directed pull. Hence, the cop tube. lacks the end-flanges, one4 of which would irnterferewiththeV removal of the thread in the manner contemplated. Due

quently experienced during the'remo-val vof the thread from the cop, because a coilof thread may become loosened therefrom, `drop v to the bottom ofthe' cop and become caught thereinunder. This lresults in breakage vof the thread and interruptionof the worlr. Aside from this diflicultyin operation,there `is another diicultyI which arises when-the spools are removed or replaced on thel ma chine, as is often necessary, as for example, when a change incolor or kind of thread is required. In' handling the cop, rthecop tube of which, as stated, lacks the confining end flanges of the old time spool, thecoilsmay become loosened, deranged andtangled, which results in waste of time and frequently in considerable waste of thread(l While the last named difficulty mightbe overcome by careful handling of thecop andparticu-ll larly by securely fastening ,thel endA of the thread to the cop, asis doneby the. thread manufacturer, Vbeforeth'e cepis removed, yit is, as -a practical matter, not feasible to rely .upon the exercise of care from, thepresent day operatives. .i l v This invention `has for its object the eliin- -ination of the above described vdifficulties by the provision of a supplemental device, or holder, which can be easily 'attachedl to, or detached from, the cop `tube and customarily is retained associated therewithuntil the cop another cop tube.A l y In this way, the 'threadrmanufac'turer can is used @faire whaha am be Iapplied to supply a relativelysmall number of the supend'of eachQcop tube.

More particularly, itis an object ofthe y invention toy yprovide a supplemental y,de-vice' .t or holder which consists' lof a base flange and an attached mandrel, the- -latfter-l adapted to A Abe insertedinthe l.hollow cylindrical cop tube and the former engaged with the base of the cop, together with means for holding SUPPORT FOR THREAD cors. y j f iN themandrel and 'cop tube from` separation linan axialvdirection, whereby the cop tube lcannot accidentally fall loft' its holder or l be unintentionally removed therefromf-it kbe- .ing desired to'avoid the difculties abovefset forth, byk retainingthe coponlits holder at`-` 1, yallytimes until it'iscom'pletely used up.y

:Another object of the invention consists 1n the provision of a holder, of the general type' described, in whichthe upper face-lof the base flange is concave lsothat` onlythe outer peripheryl of thebase of the cop tube contacts therewith and in which the cop tubeis freely slidable'f on theI mandrel, ,I whereby 'the former can drop, or be drawn downwardly progressively as the threadfis y l unwo'und from the copand the diameter of the 1 samey n decreases,-thereby `maintaining closegcontact between the outer peripheryv 'ff of the base ofthe cop yand said base-flange to prevent the. threa therebetween..

In connection wi thek last twolobjects d from beingeau'ght A f the device, by. means of which kthe mandrel i and cop tube areretainedin vassociated'relation, may advantageously include a spring serving yto perform the additional-function vof drawing the lcop tightly 'against the, con-` cavey base flange at all times.V y

Other objects and ladvantages will appear leo in the following description yand in the y illustrative embodiment ofthe invention in the accompanying drawings, in which :-V Fig. l isl afsectlonal elevational view lof a holder for'hop Shown in associated relationtherewith; j y y Fig. 2 is a plan view drawn to a smaller scaleyof ithetholder. as it y'appears before association with the cop;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view thereof;

I "FFigl l is a.sectionallplan.view-*takenr oni--y s i l The other end. .of .tliisspringz is;A connected Figs. 5 and `6 are top plan views showing the cop tube and mandrel-in' unlocked and locked positions, respectively; andl Fig. 7 is a small seale'viewshowing', in

somewhat conventionalform, the manner in 'wh'ich"t=he cop with its holderV is mounted vfor the use abovey specified.

Referring to' these drawings:I the thread 5 is wound upon a h'ollowyeylindrical core, orf' cop tube 6, in the usual and well known manner, conventionally represented-in Fig. 7,' therebyI ,forming a cop or cop body 7 .1*(Eg. 1), the end faces lof which are-.usu- X'ally asquarewith respect totheaxis "of rthe cop tubeand lie close to, but ordinarily not `quite flush with tlieends of .the cop tube. "This is. the present standard .commercial ,product which it isdesiredto continue to market but lwhich-.has the disadvantages l 'aboveset forth.

As a means for overcoming such'disadvantages, I provide a supplemental device orholder' shown in Fig. 3,'wliich may be 0 conveniently andquickly associated with the standard.-productzin the manner shown l '1 in Fig'. 1. Theparts iwhen thus associated, afford a sort of a spool which, although of several -parts, is a spool in the sensethat a'the cop and holdermay be handled as One unit.A and inserted Vin place inl the machine, .or removQed therefrom, '.withlthey same-,ease Y and vin much thev same mannervas the ordinaryv copis handled. In use, 'thee-'unit 40 y'shown in Figlvl rests upon a base a (Fig. 17), whereby it is supportedin .-anupright vposition, andit is Vheld fromidisplacement by ail fixed spindle 7J. The thread 5 is led ,upwardly from the 'cop body 7,2.through a guiding eye @carried by la' standard cl, and thence passes in' the. usual manner to' the vvmach-ineVV (not shown). The.,cop andV its lholderlremain .stationaryr during theA relmovvalbf the thread.

d "-Thishold'er comprises a m'and'relvS, herein sshown .as having an opening 9 leading axially upwardffrom' its' lower end to receive-thespindle b, and a circular base flange 10,'wh'ich1issuitably fixed to'l the mandrel '55 -aiidmiaybe, vas shown,v integral there-with.

The mandrel freely ts within the cop tube 6 soV thati the latter can', slide Arelativelytherevto, Aasby gravity action 'when the partsare supported asshown in Figi 7., vPreferably, 00 however, thevcop-.tube is drawn downwardly witli'additional force and, to this'end as well fasteI the end of holding the mandrel-and .-coptube togetherA in a manner topermit quick and convenient' detachment, liyprou vide a spring 11. This spring, zwhich' isv an "of the mandrel. vslide along l,and .'turnaboutan axis vparallel Mw`ith`the axis Aofbthe` mandreli'but slightly ordinary coil spring, is fastened at one end to the mandrel Swand, aseshown, has one end hooked t0 a pin 12 which passes diametrically through the mandrel and spans the ,1p assage, inr which...saidsspringsI s ,.loca.ted.

to a device on the top of the mandreli which Idevice is'conveniently accessible and adapt- Y ed to be drawn up and connected to the uplper end'^"of' the-cop'ft-ube.

Such device consists of a circular disc 13,

.of a diameter Vsubstantially equalto the-outside diameter vof mandrel 8,-;andf-anf attached depending pin `14;l which is slidably' andf )rotatably mounted inthe-,upper and-,closedl-end The pin 14 is mounted' to spaced therefrom, wherebythedis'c 1Bturns ecc-entricallywith respect to the -mandrel.`

This disc can beY turnedlfroin anposition wherein its peripherycoincides with' thatfof the mandrel, as sliown=iii` Fig. 5,1130 aposition wherein it does not coincide',-as shown -in Fig. 6, land in thelatter-position it .can overlie the upperfend-of cop tube 6,- Aas' shown." TheA lower-endfolf pin 214*- extendsinto; the upper ,end of passage 9 yand isconnected to the'u'pper end-'of spring 11, wherebythe latter, through, the intermediaryfo downwardly. Whilefthe vupper-end ofthe spring might 'act directly on# the fuppeie'nd .of the cop tube, the pin anddisc form armere convenient means oflconnecting the. spring tothe Cop `Jtube. The-lower end ofv pin v 111 ment with Lvthe end closure r4of ypassage 9, limits the extenty of its upward sliding movement, the downward sliding `-ni-ovementIbel 'ing'limitedby the' abutment-of disc-13- fwith said end closure. l"The disc isprcvi-ded with a loop handle 16,-'one leg 17-f'of whichfextends through: and 4below disc la'ndfinto vrecessl formed'by slabbingfolff-the upper i end .of fthe mandrel. `f Thisleg 17 can lbe turnedy :from the position sho-wn inf 'Figi' 4 v.by full lines to thatisliown in dotted lines and is 'arranged'to abut'the flat side wall' E19 `of1recess 18 to limit the extent of the turning movement of the disc 113. The-two extremes ofthe movement'of-disc'l are shown in Figs. 5"and 6. Vrlhe -legf17 is made long 1 enough so that it-cannot pass -w'all.^-19 even and in case, the, latter ultimatelyY descends far enough to render/this lnecessary.Z'The purposefof thef groove is to insure that there is nothngtoY stopthe'- downwardA A'progress the pin and disc, tends to'draw the cop tube "of the'cop'body?` as it works lgradually downward under the force of spring 11, as

the threadY is unwound and its diameter, de-

creases. In'thi's manner the outer periphery of the base 14: of the'fcop is kept constantly and ytightly in contact'with the base flange l to effectually prevent a loose coil of thread from becoming -caught therebetween at any time, whether theholde'r is in placein the machine or removed therefrom. It

should be pointed out that in practice the ends ofl the parallel wound Cops are often uneven and usually bulgeout, probably duey cop is usually a little'rough and irregular and so y therefore' a base flange, having an y'upper face which is squarerwith the axis of the mandrel, will not'always suiice to overcome thedifliculties described, because a project# ing thread in the base 22 may hold the latter from contact with the base flange 10 at the vital place, namely, the outer periphery,- where contact is essential to prevent entrance of and subsequent catching of the thread in under the cop body. The slanty of the cup shaped base is designed to be sufficient to overcome the uneveness in the ends of the cop body and retain contact atv the periphery of the same in the outside courses ofthread vat all times. f i

In practical use, the cops are supplied by the thread manufacturer to the user in the regular way. That is,they are wound .on a cylindrical cop tube without any retaining end fiange but they are wound tightly and the end lof thethread is securely fastened so that no derangement of the thread is liable to occur from ordinary handling. The thread user, as fast as a new cop is required, places it on the holder, afsuitable number of which are supplied to him by the manufacturer, and fastens the cop tube in place by lifting and turning discy 13 to the is t us associated with the holder, it is ordinarily retained in this relation until it is used up. That is, if it becomes necessary to change the kind or color of thread in the machine, the cop is not removed from its holder but the two are removed as one unitv to the use of the very simple and relatively inexpensive cop tube. He is able to mainposition shown in'Fig. 6. Once the cop l 4 said flange.

t 3. yA support tain his standard product, and .find anadequatefmarket for it, by providing a limited number ofthe holders with which -the'cop can-beused with satisfaction. 'The objec-v tions of the userare overcome at a consider# erably lesscost tol themanufacturer than. would be the case ifhe has forcedtoprovide ml i even the simplest end flange onl eachcop tube. Moreover, the holder, by reason of its conical base fiange and provision forkeep# ing theV base of the cop in Contact therewithL at its outer periphery only, works far better`v and gives better satisfaction than any. such ordinary end ange'which might to 'one endoffeach c op tube. The invention hasabeen disclosed herein, in an embodiment at present preferred, for'l illustrative purposes but the scope ofthe inl.A

ventioni is definedby theyappendedclaims rather than' by the foregoingv description.

jVVhatI claim is: m l

1. A'support vrfor thread cop wound on.:IV a hollow cylindrical tube, comprising, a cylindricalA mandrel adapted :to be inserted in 'or removed fromsaid tube and upon which saidtube is -freely slidable in the direction g of its axis, an opening provided in said mandrel'adaptedto receive an upright spindle by which lthe cop is held in an .upright po' vsition', and a concave base flange on said man-f drel to engage thebase vof `the cop" near its outer periphery, whereby as the threadibis kunwound from the cop andits dia-meterldecreases, the cop` tube slidesr downwardly on said mandrelv due to the'concavitycf saidv base flange and keeps `theouter periphery of the base ofl flange.

2. A support for a thread copwound on a hollow cylindrical tube, comprising, a cylindrical mandrel adapted to be inserted in or removed from said'tube and upon which said `tube is freely slidablev in the direction of its axis, an openingy provided in said mandrel adapted to receive an upright spindle by which the copvis held in van upright position, a concave base fiange on said mandrel to engage theA base of the cop near its outer periphery, and a spring yconnecting said cop` tube and mandrel tending -to draw f 4the cop tube downwardly, whereby asthe be; maar'` the 'cop rin contact lwith said, 'Y

wardly on said mandreldue to the concavity i of said'base flange andl keeps the outer periphery of the'base offthe cop in contact with for a thread cop woundv on arhollow cylindrical tube, comprising, va cyl- ',lindrical mandrel adapted to be inserted in "4 or removed from said tube and upon which said tube is freely slidable in the direction sition, fa concave base llange lon 'said mandrel f toffengazgethe base of thei'cop near'f-itsouter v periphery, and a vspring connected to said mandrel :and extending upwardly through Said cop'I *tube and 'detachably connected with the upperend thereof, wherebyfas the thread isunwound `from the cop and its diameter decreaSes,'-the-cop tu'be'slides downwardly on said -mandrel dueto theconcavity 'of said '-E base' flange and keeps the outer Iperiphery of the-'base of the cop in contact `with saidl flange. t

4.' A' multi-part Spool, gcomprismgge ay -hollow fcylindricalf cop'itube upon frwhich-the` thread is wound, a cylindrical?mandrel adapted 'to lfreely vlit -witliin- VSaid Ytube and permit'fthe 4-tube vto freely elidferelatively thereto' in an axial' direction, afbaselange ixed to said mand-rel and fha-ving itsI upper 205 face 'dished inwardly toward "the same, and

a spring carried by said mandrel'and extending "upwardly throughsaid cop tube and adapted 1to1 bedetachably engaged therewith.`

'5. A 'mu'ltiepartSpool, comprising,- a hol# low cylindrical c0`ptube yupon 'which the threadv :isi wound, a i' cylindrical vmandrel adapted to freely it within said Vtube and permit: thetube toreely slid-e lrelative-ly thereto in an Aaxial?direction, a fbase flange fixed to lsaid mandrel-and lhaying'itsupper face dislied .inwardly toward -the-same, and a spring carried 4byeaid inandrelfand extending upwardlythroughsaid cop tube and adapted yto 'be detachably engaged therewith,

'35 Said dished upper face provided with a fcir# 'cular groove encompassing said mandrel and adaptedultimately to freely re'cei'ye'the lower end of said cop tube asfthe latter is drawn downwardlyy l6. Inlcombinatiom a mfandrel adaptedto be'insertedin f the openingv cfa ycop tube 4vand1` tofpermitl said tube lto fslid-eaxiallyY tl ie1eo`n-,' a v-bas'e yflan-ge carried by 'said finandrel,VIV -a member ydiSpoSed at the jupper fend of fthe mandrel and mounted-therein fto turn lfroin a 'position in which lit permit'sllree entrance of the-mandrel kinto the -cop Vtube-to a -posi@ tion 'in which fit @Verliesthe' upper end of said tube,fsaid member being mounted in thev A mandrel t0 )slide in an axial direction, fand resilient means-tending to draw :said member toward themandrel. y i,

7 Incombination, fa mandrel adapted to be linserted in the-opening ofy acop' tubeandto ipermit'said tube to- Slide axially thereon; a -basetlange 'carried .by .saidfman-drel, a {loc-king 4disc disposed at l -the upper" end- *ofA the mandrel and having' a part slidably ,mounted therein and mountedqto turn about an axis eccentric tothe mandrel, and -springcon'e necting rsaid p artv yto I'the mandrel:

8. In 'combination,I a. mandrel.adaptedt be inserted in 'the opening; Eef i a cop tube "and to permit said tube *to slidefaxially-vth'ereon, a fbase flange' carried -lby saidmandrelLn a lockingdisc dis'posed-atfthe upper end ofgthe' mand-relan'd having apart Slidably mounted therein and `vmounted tof'turnabout-ian axis eccentric to the mand-reha stop providedon i 0 cnaierasiirwrmaa; 

